god of Mammon, the Devil of Covetousness

Beloved, you need to understand the spirit of mammon. You need to understand how the "god of mammon" works. Unlike mammon, our heavenly Father does not cajole or subtly manipulate. He does not place undue pressure. HE LEADS. The "god of mammon" is the "devil of covetousness". Mammon spirit can be very deceiving in a very subtle way such that if you do not put your thinking cap on and do not pay close attention to the "Inner Voice" - the voice of the Father within, you may very well fail to discern mammon. And YES! It is possible for a "true Man of God" to fall prey to mammon and allow mammon, not God to come through. It is possible. You must learn to "test all spirits". Nobody will do that work for you. You have to do it for yourself.

When someone stands on the pulpit and makes an alter call for people to step forward to make a commitment to sow $1,000 into her life "every single year till Jesus comes", you have to say, "Hold up! 🖐️" This is a woman is who already doing well financially. Now please, which is better: people giving her $1,000 yearly or giving $1,000 yearly to the poor and needy in her Church and in the wider society (or to an NGO that assists people with drug abuse problems or conducts work-skills acquisition programs)? Which option will bring glory to the Father? Which is the greater good? And please remember, she did not say the money would be used by the ministry, for example, to pay for media outreach or to assist members who are going through very difficult financial hardships. Oh no! She implied, "Bring the money to me - it goes into my personal pocket!" 😀

A close look at the life of Jesus and his Apostles presents a remarkable example to follow. The Master never made such alter calls. He poured wisdom, knowledge and understanding into people. And some of these people were led to give to him personally (e.g. the woman with the alabaster box, Matthew 26:7) without being pressured; without being threatened with curses; without being manipulated in a deft ('neatly skillful') and subtle way. The Father leads. Mammon manipulates.


NB:
Utilitarianism: The greatest good, to the greatest number, for the greatest length of time. Please, see: The Urantia Book Paper 134:5.4, "This rule of the Most Highs in the kingdoms of men is not for the especial benefit of any especially favored group of mortals. There is no such thing as a “chosen people.” The rule of the Most Highs, the overcontrollers of political evolution, is a rule designed to foster the greatest good to the greatest number of all men and for the greatest length of time." "Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the behavior or perception of others through abusive, deceptive, or underhanded tactics." - Wikipedia

The Great Commission I

My focus here is on taking the gospel to the world; and not on taking the Urantia Book to the world. (However, it is noteworthy to say that CMC does both.)

The Urantia Revelations make two things very clear:
1) Personal, private ministry ('as you pass by') - your character and your one-on-one interactions proclaim truth, beauty and goodness, transforming lives.
2) Public ministry - proactively taking the gospel to people on a massive scale, from city to city, country to country. 

We see both in Melchizedek's Earth life. We see both in Jesus' Earth life. Jesus encourages us to do the same today. People who are only focused on private ministry should not tear down those who are focused on both private and public. We are a team! 

The Master sent out Kingdom believers TO PROACTIVELY GO TO VILLAGES AND CITIES TEACHING AND PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM... How can we effectively take the teachings of Jesus to every part of the planet - reaching thousands and millions, at a time, if we do not engage in some form of "conscious, calculated organization"? 

The Master commanded us to take his teachings all over the world. He led by example by sending out believers to different places to reach out to others; to preach and teach - publicly. Jesus had an "organized movement" in place. Different people had different tasks. For example, Matthew Levi was a fundraiser. Judas Iscariot was their treasurer. Simon Peter was an eloquent spokesman - preacher and teacher... There was a sustainable structure in place. 

To take the gospel to villages, cities and countries all over the world would require SOME (or A FEW) faith-liberated individuals to put in 20, 30 or even 50 hours of work per week. It requires a well coordinated and sustained effort. It requires planning, time and money. It requires setting up a structure - a 'movement'; an 'organization'; a 'church' or whatever is needed to get the job done. Let's not deceive ourselves. There's really practically no other way in this day and age.

A key objective for us is to clearly understand the duties and responsibilities placed on us, by the Fifth Epochal Revelation or the FER (The Urantia Book) and also those placed on us by the gospel message. They are greatly interrelated but they are not exactly the same. The FER may experience 'slow growth' but the gospel message does not have to. The majority of humans on Earth may not be ready for the FER but they are ready for the gospel teachings. Lack of understanding of this vital fact is a major reason why we are not doing so well - globally, in obeying the Master’s command. 

Some readers frown at Public Ministries because of the abuse they see amongst some tele-evangelists and some Church or Religious leaders. These things should not and must not make us reject "organizations" and public outreach work. Some humans may abuse power, authority, finances, etc but that does not mean the WORK ITSELF should not be done.

We have a great book - the Urantia Book, filled with nuggets to equip us with wisdom, knowledge and understanding. If any group of people should do better, then I think we ought to be that group. I see nothing to fear or be worried about. The Master knew quite well the fallibility of humans yet out of faith and trust, he commissions them to work under an umbrella as an organized team to do Public Outreach Work. With the knowledge we have, we should be able to do better than our 'stigmatized' tele-evangelist brothers and sisters... ...But should we fail, we learn, we grow, we evolve. We get wiser. There's really no other way.

 ‪#‎OneLove‬ ‪#‎Peace‬ ‪#‎Namaste‬

Picture Art of FOGBOM by Tery McCade.

A very detailed narrative of Jesus' entire life!

Hello all! Namaste!
Please, for those of us interested in "proactive outreach activities" (a.k.a. evangelism), I find this short piece very useful. You can incorporate it in your dialogue both online and offline:

"The Urantia Book contains the most spiritually compelling story of Jesus anywhere in print. It provides a detailed narrative of Jesus' entire life including the socalled "missing years," his discourses, parables, significant life events, crucifixion and resurrection. This life and teachings of Jesus is supplemented by an extensive spiritual cosmology provided in the first three sections of The Urantia Book."
Source: The Urantia Book Fellowship http://www.urantiabook.org/newbook/index-biography-of-jesus.html
Now, am excited!! Whoo-ooh! :)


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"The next evening, having gathered together the twelve apostles, the apostles of John, and the newly commissioned women's group, Jesus said: "You see for yourselves that the harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Let us all, therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest that he send forth still more laborers into his fields."" - Urantia Book Paper 150:4.1

"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." - Jesus, Matthew 11:12

The "spirit of God" in you!

Instruction for Teachers and Believers: "The world is filled with hungry souls who famish in the very presence of the bread of life; men die searching for the very God who lives within them. Men seek for the treasures of the kingdom with yearning hearts and weary feet when they are all within the immediate grasp of living faith." - Jesus, The Decapolis Tour ‪#‎UrantiaBook‬ Paper159:3.8

The Urantia Book, Part 4, Paper 159
The Decapolis Tour 
http://www.urantiabook.org/newbook/papers/p159.htm#P159_3_0
[Part 4 of the Urantia Book is a very detailed year-by-year account of the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ. Discover the "Missing Years" there!]

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"But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." - Job 32:8, King James Bible 

"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." - Ecclesiastes 12:7, King James Bible 

The "spirit in man" is "God in man" - the spirit of God and from God the Father that is in a human being. It is this spirit that Jesus referred to when he said, "men die searching for the very God who lives within them."
The Urantia Book calls this spirit, "Thought Adjuster", "Mystery Monitor", "Thought Changer", "Thought Controller", "Divine Presence", "Pilot Light", "Fragment of God". 

To have a greater and far better understanding of "this spirit", study Papers 107 - 112 of the Urantia Book  
http://www.urantia.org/urantia-book/read-urantia-book-online

Peace and blessings!